Rathma
Rathma, whose birth name was Linarian, is a first generation nephalem and the progenitor of the Priests of Rathma Necromancers. He is the son of Lilith and Inarius. He isn't on good terms with his parents, as Lilith destroyed the rebel angels and demons only to use the nephalem's power for her own ends, while Inarius believed that the nephalem should worship him alone. Biography Early life Linarian was born to the angel Inarius and the demon Lilith, who, among their followers, had escaped the Eternal Conflict and created Sanctuary. He was born as the first nephalem, but was not the last. He sought out the deep recesses of the world, and studied the cycle of life and death, teaching it to those willing to venture into his subterranean habitat. The renegade angels and demons, seeing that the nephalem were far more powerful than their parents, argued as to whether to kill or spare their new progeny. While Inarius weighed his options in solitude, Lilith lashed out and killed the remaining demons and angels to prevent them from harming the nephelem. Horrified, Inarius could still not bear to kill Lilith, and banished her into the Void.Scales of the Serpent He then attuned the Worldstone to cause the powers of the nephalem to diminish over time. Through each subsequent nephalem generation, their powers diminished, effectively giving birth to weaker, mortal race known as humanity.Book of Cain During this time, Linarian rebelled against his father’s plans, strengthening his power while seeking those who were aligned with his goals.2017-06-23, Deadly Roots: The Lore of the Necromancer. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2017-06-30 Living among the first generation of humanity, Linarian discovered a fundamental truth; that the forces of Light and Darkness would clash eternally, and that both were a threat to the world.Rise of the Necromancer, Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2017-06-30 Linarian and the other members of the first generation, such as Bul'Kathos, retained their supernatural powers, although all later generations needed to be trained or discover magic some other way. Many of the firstborn were destroyed by Inarius, who did not tolerate defiance to his rule. This prompted Linarian to feign death and flee to a mysterious nether-realm; the realm of Trag'Oul, a dragon-like being who watched over Sanctuary as its guardian. Linarian became Trag'Oul's disciple, who taught him of the concept of the Balance—the delicate interplay between the powers of order and chaos. Linarian eventually changed his name to "Rathma" and began working to keep Sanctuary hidden from the High Heavens and limit the influence of the Burning Hells there. The Sin War During the events of the Sin War Rathma sensed the return of his mother Lilith. So he went and started searching for a way to stop her. Rathma and Trag'Oul worked alone for some time until they knew about the Ul-Diomed brothers Uldyssian and Mendeln, who both became pivotal in the shaping of Sanctuary's future. Rathma selected Mendeln as his first disciple. He and Trag'Oul felt that Mendeln had great potential for helping them maintain the Balance, and Rathma began to examine and watch Mendeln without him being aware. Rathma eventually confronted Mendeln directly, and though the young man remained skeptical at first, he joined forces with Rathma and Trag'Oul becoming the second necromancer in history. Rathma was horrified to learn that the High Heavens had discovered Sanctuary's existence. In his mind, the angels were no better than the demons, as they were likely to obliterate the entire planet simply for having demons present. Rathma was briefly banished by his father to a vast realm of 'nothingness'. This was also the same realm where Inarius had previously banished his former love Lilith to. Only by the combined efforts of Trag'Oul and Mendeln could Rathma be rescued. Rathma played several key roles during the Sin War. He aided Uldyssian in many occasions. The most important of those is when Rathma teleported to the Worldstone to help him, at which time Uldyssian made his alteration to the stone which ultimately lead to a great rise on power among the edyrem. Rathma also tried to negotiate with his father to cease hostilities with Uldyssian and instead focus his attention on Heaven and Hell, and although the attempt failed he also rallied the remaining living nephalem for the final confrontation between Inarius and Uldyssian on the Grasslands. Rathma later assisted during the final Battle of the Golden Path, along with the remaining firstborn. After the battle was won, Rathma explained to Mendeln that his time on the world would eventually come to an end, instructing him to train additional disciples so that the Balance would always have dedicated guardians. Legacy The Priests of Rathma are a mage clan which follow the teachings of Rathma and Trag'Oul, created by Mendeln. They aim to achieve balance between Heaven and Hell and protect Sanctuary. Those who achieve the rank of Master Necromancer are honored with a few bones from the skeleton minions that once served Rathma. These artifacts are generally used in the priest's gloves.Diablo III, Rathma's Macabre Vambraces Rathma is venerated by the priesthood, who depict him as a great writhing serpent. Personality and Traits Rathma is said to have inherited his father's stoicism.Diablo III, Inarius's Reticence He was a brooding and solitary individual, and valued the Balance of light and dark above any other consideration. Rathma was described as tall male, looking like a person in their forties. His skin was pale white with tall black hair. He wore a rather special cloak. It shifted and moved in response to his emotional state and covered his head with a hood. He was a very calm and rational man. He was not cold or uncaring, he was a good person but he rarely displayed emotion and thus came off as such. References Category:The Sin War (novels) Category:Nephalem